History

Born from Festival of Light

Rev Fred Nile’s political awakening occurred in 1973.  As first full-time director of the Festival of Light in NSW (“FOL”) he had to undertake a crash course in politics.  FOL’s concern with important moral and social issues meant he had to organise deputations to state and Federal governments, to Prime Ministers, Premiers, Attorneys-General and others.

At that time, the Federal Attorney-General and Minister for Customs and Excise was Senator Lionel Murphy.  Senator Murphy had no sympathy with FOL’s aims, and his ruthlessness was revealed when a FOL deputation went to see him in 1974 about his plans to relax censorship laws.  The deputation consisted of respected lawyers and church leaders, but during the meeting Senator Murphy accused them of being a Liberal Party front.  Rev Nile said no, they had support from ALP MPs. ‘Who?’ he asked in disbelief.  Rev Nile explained that Mr Mallam was on the FOL Advisory Committee.  Senator Murphy excused himself, left the room and returned shortly afterwards. ‘Mr Mallam is no longer on your committee,’ he said.

When the FOL deputation got back to Sydney, Rev Nile received a phone call from a frightened, nervous Mr Mallam.  He never mentioned Senator Murphy.  He just said, ‘I would greatly appreciate it if you could remove my name from the FOL Advisory Committee and say if asked that I am not and never have been a member of the committee.’ Out of respect for Mr Mallam, FOL agreed to his request.

That 1974 deputation was a turning point for FOL.  By this and other provocative challenges, Senator Murphy unintentionally forced them to launch a militant form of Christian action and finally a political movement.

Even before 1974 Senator Murphy enjoyed scorning the FOL.  He was the Federal Attorney-General and should have shown more respect for the Festival of Light’s church representatives.  Instead he mocked them, claiming they represented no one but themselves.  He challenged them to show him that Australians really did support our Christian views.  It was partly in response to this that FOL organised their large public marches and protest rallies in Sydney and other capital cities, as well as the Australia-wide speaking tours of Mary Whitehouse, Malcolm Muggeridge and others.

Family Action Movement

A small group of Festival of Light leaders – Frieda Brown, Ken Harrison and Rev Fred Nile – also examined the possibility of political action supporting Christian candidates, mainly to oppose the new humanist Australia Party.  In 1974 they formed a political action group separate from the Festival of Light and called it the Family Action Movement (FAM) – ‘FAM for the Family’.  From that point on they nominated FAM candidates for Federal and state elections.  Frieda, an Oxford graduate in politics and constitutional law and an Anglican minister’s wife, and Ken, a journalist, both stood themselves, as did paediatrician Clair Isbister and others later.  Rev Nile organised the campaigns and stood in several elections – all without success.

In 1974 Rev Nile stood as number two on the Family Action Movement Senate team; and again as number two on the Family Action Movement Senate team in 1975.

Ironically, it was the legislative agenda of Senator Lionel Murphy, the man who so despised, them that spurred them on, and particularly the attack on Christian marriage and the family represented by his family law bills introduced into Parliament during 1973 and 1974.

Call to Australia/ Party

In 1977 FAM changed its name and became the Call to Australia.  They hoped this new group would be able to act as a coalition for all concerned Christians, with a broader base than FAM.  (Later they were later forced by electoral law to amend the name to ‘Call to Australia Party’.)  Rev Nile stood unsuccessfully in 1977 as number one in the Call to Australia Senate team and again as number one on the Call to Australia Senate team in 1980.

Rev Fred Nile’s 1981 Election to Parliament

After an unexpected breakthrough into the media with his newspaper column and radio show, Rev Nile wondered what other surprises God might have in store.  But not in his wildest imagination did he seriously anticipate the development that crowned 1981 as a year of miracles – his election to the NSW Legislative Council on the CTA ticket.

Rev Nile describes that unforgettable day in 1981 in his autobiography:

“Although our votes and preferences to this day had a small impact on the major parties, none of our candidates had ever attracted enough votes to be elected.

Our limited funds and small number of workers compared with the big political machines put us at too great a disadvantage, to say nothing of the media’s censorship and misrepresentations of our statements and positions.  All this made it difficult to expand our support base.

Election day, Saturday 19 September 1981, showed no signs of changing this reality.  Elaine and I toured polling booths in north and west Sydney, listening to reports of the poor reception our booth workers had received from voters.  Our disappointment grew.  Finally I said to her, ‘Well, we’ve done our best.  That will be the last time I stand.  God must have something else He wants us to do.’

We arrived at our home in Ryde feeling very hot and tired after manning the key Sydney Town Hall polling booth from 7.00 a.m. until lunchtime then visiting other booths all afternoon.  We did not even turn on the radio or television to hear the results.

Then at about 8.30 p.m. the phone rang.  It was Malcolm Mackerras, the well-known election analyst.  He gave us some friendly advice: ‘Fred, you’ve been elected to the New South Wales Parliament.  On the first batch of votes you’re polling 10 per cent.  You’d better get down to the State Electoral Office to see what’s happening.’

I almost dropped the phone in shock.  ‘There must be some mistake’, I said.  Malcolm assured me there was not.

I jumped in the car and drove to the city.  At the Electoral Office, the first person I saw was a man who had little love for either me or the Festival of Light, Premier Neville Wran – with a scowl on his face!

Other people, MPs, candidates, the media, all started to congratulate me.  Yes, I had been elected – the final figure was 9.2 per cent of the Upper House vote, over 225,000 primary votes.  It was almost enough for two seats in Parliament and our second Call to Australia candidate, Dr Graham McLennan, nearly won on preferences.  But finally the Australian Democrats’ high profile number one candidate, Elizabeth Kirkby of the TV show ‘Number 96’, was elected instead.”

Rev Nile was elected for a term of nine years.

Fred Nile Settles In

He received a disgraceful welcome.  The ALP Government would not give him his legal entitlements as an elected Member – no office, not even a seat in the chamber!  He had to get the Parliament House plans from his friend Jim Cameron, who was Speaker of the Legislative Assembly from 1973 to 1976.  Rev Nile located two offices occupied by one ALP Member and forced that Member to give one to him.

Finally the carpenters built a red-leathered, two-person ‘bus’ style seat for him – right in the centre of the Upper House chamber! (Its size was prophetic because Rev Nile’s wife joined him as a Member in 1988.)

Call to Australia and Festival of Light had been deliberately kept separate, with separate memberships, offices, mailing lists and finances.  The only links were in personalities and in CTA efforts to uphold Festival of Light policies in Parliament.

CTA’s fundamental policy was that it recognised the mandate of the elected government to govern.  CTA’s role was to help the government to govern better by amending and improving its bills to produce godly legislation, always trying to be constructive, not obstructive.  It was the Opposition’s role to make life difficult for the government, not CTA’s.  However, against ungodly bills they would fight tooth and nail!

When Bob Carr became Premier in 1995, he gave Fred and Elaine Nile a friendly response, inviting them to his office for morning tea and confidential discussions.  He often thanked them for their essential votes in support of important ALP bills.  Michael Egan, ALP leader in the Upper House, has also given them confidential briefings on future ALP plans.

Jim Cameron’s 1984 Election as CTA Member

In preparation for the Call to Australia ticket for the elections in March 1984, Jim Cameron was preselected in 1983 to lead the CTA 1984 Upper House team.  Jim was Speaker of the Legislative Assembly from 1973 to 1976, deputy leader of the Liberal Party when Rev Nile was first elected in 1981 and eventually resigned from the Liberal Party because of their policies. 

The CTA NSW Council met in the Niles’ large lounge room to finalise preselection and Jim Cameron was selected unanimously.  Normally only the number one candidate would have a chance of getting elected and joining Rev Nile in the Upper House, so little thought had been given to the other four team members.

Rev Nile called for nominations.  Some members said a woman should be number two and Marie Bignold was nominated.  Marie had been very supportive of Rev Nile, especially in the Festival of Light, and they had worked well together.  Her legal advice as a solicitor had been helpful on moral issues.  So Marie was selected as number two on the ticket.  The other team members were Graham McLennan, Kevin Hume and Elaine Nile at number five, where she had no chance of winning.

Elaine received 8615 votes in that election compared with Marie’s 923.  It was a remarkable result for someone at number five on the ticket, and on the strength of it Johnno Johnson, the ALP numbers man, later remarked that if Elaine was first on the ticket at the next election, she would probably be elected.

Jim Cameron worked very hard in that election, campaigning with Rev Nile throughout the Sydney suburbs and across country NSW by light plane.  He was finally elected with 166,210 primary votes (183,313 with preferences).  His victory gave Call to Australia two votes in the Upper House.

Jim’s triumph was short-lived.  Not long after being elected he suffered a massive heart attack at a Sutherland CTA Dinner.  His brush with death took its toll.  By late 1984 he was back in Parliament but as they sat together in the Upper House Rev Nile could hear the gurgling heart noises.  Eventually Jim Cameron said, ‘I’m dying, Fred; I’ll have to resign’.  Rev Nile did not want him to go, but accepted his decision.

Marie Bignold’s 1985 Succession of Jim

The big question was: who would succeed him?  The rules (which have since been amended) gave the first option to the next person on the ticket.  If they said no then the option went to the next person and so on.  If no one on the ticket wanted the seat, then the party selected the successor.

Marie Bignold was very keen to take up the seat and quickly applied for it.  Marie was sworn in on 26 February 1985 and Rev Nile set himself to try to work with her.  Right from the start there were difficulties.  She seemed to resent Rev Nile making any suggestions.  Marie found it hard to trust his motives.  Gradually the gap in their relationship became wider and eventually she was acting completely independently of Rev Nile as party leader.

Elaine Nile’s 1988 Election to Parliament

Soon there was to be another election on 19 March 1988.  As Rev Nile considered and prayed about who should be the candidate to join him in the Upper House, God gave him the answer in the form of a riddle: ‘The person you want is closer than your brother.’  One morning Rev Nile said to his wife, Elaine, ‘You’re closer than my brother! You’re the next CTA candidate!’  Elaine protested, but eventually Rev Nile convinced her to nominate.

Niles in miracle rise to power read the newspaper headlines when against all the odds Elaine was elected to the Upper House with nearly 200,000 votes (including preferences).  It was a wonderful present for Elaine’s fiftieth birthday on 20 March 1988.

In that election the ALP was defeated, the Coalition won government, with Nick Greiner as Premier.  But the Coalition did not have control of the Upper House.  It was Call to Australia with its three votes that held the balance of power – at least in theory.

Rumblings in the Ranks

In practice, the balance of power consisted of three votes split into two votes and one vote.  The ALP took full advantage of this situation and did all it could to use Marie, without her full knowledge, to block and frustrate government legislation.  With her vote the ALP had the members to control the Upper House, something which upset Jim Cameron no end.

Then another unexpected factor entered the situation.  The famous heart surgeon Dr Victor Chang offered Jim a heart transplant from a healthy young man.  Jim accepted (an ironic development as he was the only MP to vote against the transplant legislation) and had the operation.  Soon he was completely recovered and as fit as a young man.  He applied to Rev Nile to get his old seat back.  The CTA Council fully supported his application and asked Marie to step down.

The request was totally rebuffed.  At that point a complete break occurred in the relationship between Rev Nile and Marie.  No matter what they said, it was misunderstood, and the ALP and the media poured petrol on the fire every day to keep it going.  For example, when Marie accused Jim of only wanting the salary, he said she could keep it.  She then accused him of trying to bribe her!  The media kept deliberately misrepresenting their comments, keeping the controversy going from day to day with news reports and colourful cartoons.

The next stage in the drama occurred when Rev Nile felt the ALP was out to get the government leader in the Upper House and Minister for Police and Emergency Services, Ted Pickering, over his handling of his police portfolio.  With Marie’s support the ALP managed to form a select committee to examine a key bill which they opposed, the Police Regulation (Allegations of Misconduct) Amendment Bill.

In the 27 September 1988 issue of Rev Nile’s private and confidential regular monthly letter to CTA party coordinators, which was not for public consumption, he used the common political term ‘witch hunt’ to describe what was happening:

“This Select Committee, which only has one Liberal MP on it, is now conducting a witch hunt … to discredit the Leader of the Government in the Upper House, Hon. Ted Pickering, who is also Minister for Police, and finally try to force him to resign, so that the Greiner Government will be seriously damaged, and so help the ALP to win the next Election.”

Rev Nile believes used the term ‘witch hunt’ innocently, but it unleashed a hornets’ nest.  On 10 October Marie wrote to Rev Nile, deeply offended by the implications of the term and demanded a withdrawal and an apology.  On 12 October he wrote a personal letter of apology to her and the following day he requested leave to make a personal explanation, apology and withdrawal in the Legislative Council.

Rev Nile had hoped the matter would rest there, but the ALP saw a golden opportunity to use their numbers to expel him from Parliament.  They gleefully supported a motion moved by Marie on behalf of the select committee to refer his words to the new, all-powerful Standing Committee upon Parliamentary Privilege to investigate and make recommendations to the Upper House concerning Rev Nile’s future.  This committee had the power to recommend to the House his penalty, which could include being expelled from Parliament.  Interestingly, the committee had been established by an ALP motion mere days before – the motion to set it up was moved on 13 October 1988, the very day Rev Nile made his personal explanation and apology in the House.  Rev Nile has wondered whether the ALP planed to use this new Privileges Committee against him all along.  The Privileges Committee conducted an intensive investigation of the charges of possible contempt against Rev Nile and cleared him completely recommending that no further action should be taken in the matter.

Abolition of Marie’s Seat

That whole period was a very unhappy one for Rev Nile and he even considered resigning from Parliament.  The situation was finally resolved in an unexpected way.  The Coalition Government introduced a bill (which CTA supported) to hold a referendum on the composition of the Upper House.  The bill reduced the number of Members from forty-five to forty-two and the length of a Member’s term from twelve years to eight.  This meant three seats would be abolished, one ALP, one National Party and Marie’s.  Even though Marie challenged the bill in court, the referendum went ahead and was passed by the majority of NSW voters at the election on 25 May 1991.

At that election the newly formed political party, The Marie Bignold Party, led by her daughter, also failed to win a seat.  It did, however, damage Rev Nile’s re-election chances.  This very public dispute had confused and disillusioned both CTA workers and voters.  It was a miracle when Rev Nile was re-elected in spite of all the attempts of the media and the ALP to discredit him.

Reconciliation

So Marie was out of Parliament.  But this was not really the resolution the Niles desired.  They had prayed daily since 1985 for a reunion with Marie.  Then on 4 December 1991, eight months after the election, the media told Rev Nile that Marie was coming to parliament to make an announcement.  When she arrived she asked to see Rev Nile at the front of Parliament House and his fears turned into rejoicing when Marie said all was forgiven and she wanted to be reunited with him.  She gave him a warm handshake, then a hug and a kiss.  He was completely surprised and asked her, ‘Why did you do it?’ She replied, ‘God’s Spirit told me to!’

Later Marie invited the Niles to a special dinner at her home with her husband.  She also asked if she could come to Parliament House to pray with Rev Nile and study the Bible, which they did on a number of occasions.

Some time later, Marie raised her financial position.  She pointed out that because she lost her seat in extraordinary circumstances, she had been unable to serve out her full term and therefore had been denied the right to acquire the seven years of parliamentary service needed to qualify for the normal parliamentary pension.  Rev Nile agreed with her that there was an issue of justice here.  He also assumed the court cases she had conducted against the Referendum Bill must have given her very large legal bills, to say nothing of the cost of her failed 1991 election campaign.  So with Marie’s help Rev Nile drafted a special Superannuation Pension Bill for her.  The ALP agreed to support the bill, but the government said it would oppose it.  However, through Rev Nile’s lobbying it eventually went through both houses of Parliament unanimously in about five minutes and was passed into law, clearing the way for Marie to receive the full parliamentary pension, for which she was very grateful.

Fred Nile’s 1991 Re-election

In spite of a vicious campaign to have Rev Nile defeated at the 1991 state elections, he was re-elected for another eight-year term.  Originally he was elected in 1981 for three terms of the Assembly – that is, 3 x 3 years, totalling nine years.  A later bill introduced fixed four-year terms for the Assembly, so his term became 3 x 4 years – twelve years!  The Niles agreed this was too large in a democracy and voted for the 1991 Referendum Bill to reduce their Upper House terms from three to two Assembly terms.  This made their terms 2 x 4 years, a total of eight years. 

The battle between Ian Cohen (Greens) and Rev Nile for the last seat in 1991 was a spiritual battle; the media said that Fred represented the Creator God who made the heavens and the earth while Ian represented the pagan Earth Mother goddess!  With the even numbers emerging from that election (Coalition 20 seats, ALP and Democrats 20 seats), Elaine and I now held the balance of power in the Parliament in our own right.  We preferred to call it ‘the balance of prayer and responsibility’.  We held this balance until the next election in 1995.

Elaine Nile’s 1995 Re-election

If the 1991 election was a close call for me, the 1995 poll was tough for Elaine.  The Sydney Daily Telegraph reported that one senior Liberal politician had even issued an order that any Liberal Party members helping the Niles to be re-elected on voting day would be expelled!  Large newspaper advertisements were also inserted by various people urging voters not to vote for the Niles.

Coalition candidate Lloyd Coleman was competing with Elaine for the final Legislative Council seat.  His vote started to decrease in relation to Elaine’s.  Elaine’s vote gradually drew ahead and she won the seat.  The reason was that the formal legal vote was ‘1 to 15’, but the Coalition only had thirteen Upper House candidates!  That was a fatal mistake because ballot papers numbered only 1 to 13 were declared informal when preferences were finally allocated.

Christian Democratic Party

In 1997, following two years of prayer, discussion, consultation and professional surveys, the party discovered that young people did not understand what ‘Call to Australia’ meant and told them, ‘If your party is based on Christian principles, your name should say so.’  So CTA adopted a dynamic new name, Christian Democratic Party (“CDP”), with a new hope, a new vision, and new opportunities for the new millennium.

Fred Nile’s 1999 Re-election

It was under the CDP name that Rev Nile entered the race for the NSW elections on 27 March 1999, as number one on the Legislative Council ticket.  The media were slow to catch on to the name change, and as usual CDP faced a virtual media blackout on its views.  Most ominously, the CDP unexpectedly found itself just one amidst an explosion of eighty political parties and groups which together nominated a staggering 264 candidates for the Upper House, plus independents, totalling 276.  Many of those parties were later found to be phoney.

That election campaign was tough for CDP.  The main disadvantage was that very few of these small parties gave CDP their preferences, forcing the party to rely on primary votes and just a few preferences.  In the end, Rev Nile secured the fifth highest primary vote out of the eighty parties in spite of being placed on the bottom of the huge ballot paper.

Some people who wanted to vote for CDP/ Fred Nile complained they could not even find his name, and some loyal supporters even voted for other parties with nice sounding titles! 

A new pro-family party, the Australian Family Alliance, would not give CDP their early preferences and finally helped to elect Peter Breen of the Reform the Legal System Party, whose mentor is John Marsden.

Yet despite the many factors against him, for the third time in Rev Nile’s political career he saw a miracle and was elected.

The new Christian Democratic Party has received a positive response in terms of increased membership and finance having entered the new millennium with a fresh determination to fight for God’s vision of a stable, healthy society.

Elaine Nile Plans to Retire

At 2.30pm on 24 July 2000 Elaine Nile announced that she had been reluctantly forced to retire from Parliament because of ill health which she believed was brought on by irregular late hours of Parliament Sittings and the long term effects of the air conditioning and cigarette smoke which had brought on Bronchiectasis and severe asthma.

John Bradford had been endorsed as her replacement by the NSW CDP Management Committee on 16th June and by the NSW CDP Council on 8th July 2000.  Mr Bradford was Federal Member for the Gold Coast based seat of McPherson from 1990 until 1998. In 1998 he resigned from the Liberal Party to contest a Senate seat for the CDP and had been active in rebuilding the Queensland CDP State Branch as Queensland CDP Coordinator.

John Bradford grew up in Roseville and served as a Councillor on the Warringah Council from 1977 until 1985.  In 1986 the Bradford family moved from Collaroy to the Gold Coast.  A media release issued by CDP on 24 July 2000 advised that Mr Bradford had returned (from QLD) to live on the northern beaches of Sydney and would relocate his family of three children at the end of the school year.

On 24 August 2000, following media controversy over his residency in NSW, John Bradford announced that the NSW Electoral Commissioner, John Wasson, had decided that Mr Bradford "meets all of the requirements of the legislation as having lived at the Narrabeen address for one month prior to lodging his claim for enrolment” and that the Electoral Commissioner did “not propose taking any further action”.

In the meantime, as a result of the large media controversy over his place of residence, New South Wales or Queensland, the Niles had lost confidence in him when he failed to carry out what they believed to be their clear instructions that he was to live in Sydney for over 28 days.

On 28 August 2000, Elaine Nile announced the indefinite postponement of her retirement explaining that she had received many letters from supporters thanking her for what she had done in the past twelve years in support of family life and many expressed their wish that she could continue to represent them.  She believed that during the winter recess of the NSW Parliament her health had continued to improve, especially her breathing difficulties, with the specialist treatment and medication she had received.  She hoped with God's help and the faithful prayers of her friends and supporters to continue in the Upper House, to fulfil her responsibilities for which she was elected in 1995, for the people and families of NSW until her term was completed in March 2003.

Upon hearing Elaine’s news, the Christian Democratic Party Management Committee organised a meeting that night with Elaine and Fred Nile and John Bradford to discuss the original proposal for Mrs Nile’s retirement.  The CDP Management Committee asked Mrs Nile to reconsider her recent decision to continue in the Upper House.   Mrs Nile agreed that she would pray about the issue and seek the guidance of God.  The CDP Management Committee re-confirmed its previous decision to endorse Mr Bradford as Mrs Nile's successor in the NSW Upper House.

On 9 September 2000 the NSW State Council of the Christian Democratic Party gave its strong to Mrs Elaine Nile MLC, passing a motion that “the NSW State Council of the Christian Democratic Party, at this meeting, fully supports the decision of Mrs Elaine Nile MLC to not resign, now that she has fully regained her health, and to continue in parliament. And we also express our appreciation and pleasure that she is able to continue in her elected position in the NSW Upper House … This decision was made harmoniously and unanimously except for one vote."

The Annual NSW CDP Council Meeting on 14 October 2000 elected a new NSW CDP Management Committee renewing its support for the Hon Elaine Nile MLC to continue to sit in the NSW Upper House, so as to complete her elected term of office until March 2003.

The Niles were surprised when John Bradford launched legal action for compensation when Elaine was well enough to continue and did not resign after all.  He calculated his total losses at $377,000.  In the spirit of Christmas, they were reconciled on 4 December and the compensation was settled on a confidential basis on 18 December 2000.

Selection of 2003 NSW Election Campaign Team

Elaine Nile had agreed that she would continue her term in Parliament but she would not seek re-election in the March 2003 State Elections.  In November 2001 the Management Committee of CDP’s began the search for a high-profile Christian who would head the ticket for the Legislative Council elections in 2003.

A number of names were put forward, all of which sounded a little far fetched, but Rev Nile always believed that no-one could ever know what God had planted in the hearts of these people and maybe one of them might be ready for their life to move in a new direction.  One of those names was the Rev Dr Gordon Moyes AC, Superintendent of Wesley Mission, with whom Rev Nile initiated discussions.

Dr Moyes took time to discuss the matter with family, the Officers of Wesley Mission and the President of the Uniting Church, Prof James Haire, all of whom gave their blessing and encouragement. The Premier Hon Bob Carr, also took time to contact Dr Moyes and encouraged him to stand.

While still considering the proposal, Dr Moyes accepted an invitation to be the key-note speaker at the launching dinner held at the Parramatta Leagues Club on Saturday 18 May 2002 for the 2003 election campaign.  At that dinner Gordon Moyes gave an inspired address on the theme “My vision for Australia”.  He used the letters of the word 'Australia' to highlight the policies the Christian Democratic Party should take into the next NSW State Election on Saturday 22 March 2003.  He commenced with 'A' for Aboriginal Reconciliation, 'U' for a United Australia etc.

A much larger campaign launching rally was held in the Blacktown Civic Centre on 23 August 2002 and before a crowd of 600-800 CDP members and supporters Gordon Moyes announced his acceptance of the number one position on the ticket and Rev Ross Clifford announced his acceptance of the number 2 position.  Ross Clifford is Principal of Morling College, the Baptist ministry training college for NSW and the Sunday night radio program presenter on 2CH.

The excitement and joy in that hall in Blacktown was almost tangible.  By popular demand, Dr Moyes gave his address once again on the theme: "My Vision for Australia”, which was enthusiastically received (and this time, recorded!).

Elaine Nile Retires / Gordon Moyes fills the ‘Casual Vacancy’

In the meantime, Hon Elaine Nile’s health had not greatly improved.  For the second time in as many years Elaine announced her early retirement and made her valedictory (retirement) speech on 27 August 2002.

A media release issued by CDP on 26 August 2002 announced the retirement of Elaine Nile and the joint sitting of Members of both Houses of the New South Wales Parliament at which Gordon Moyes was to be elected to fill the vacated seat, being the Party’s sole nomination.  That media release included information about how Rev Moyes would handle this new position in relation to his existing role at Wesley Mission:

“Dr Moyes was confirmed earlier this year as Superintendent of Wesley Mission until the end of 2005, when he has requested that he be allowed to retire after 27 years as the head of the largest Christian ministry in the nation. This has also been confirmed by the Sydney Presbytery of the Uniting Church. Dr Moyes says, ‘I will continue as Superintendent of Wesley Mission until last day of 2005 when I will have completed 27 years of being Superintendent - the longest run in 195 years. I will then be 67 years of age. I will continue as Superintendent to ensure we have a replacement in position, then we will both share some leadership until the other person comes up to speed and takes over in 2006. This has been approved by the Officers of the Mission and by Wesley Mission Council.’

The President of the UCA, Prof James Haire has approved Dr Moyes standing for the Legislative Council while Superintendent of Wesley Mission and has asked if he may preach at a special service of Dedication for Dr Moyes as he serves in the Legislative Council.”

Gordon Moyes was elected as Elaine Nile’s replacement on 3 September 2002 by the joint sitting of both Houses of the NSW Parliament.

Gordon Moyes’ 2003 Election

On 27 March 2003 the voters of NSW confirmed their approval by electing Rev Dr Gordon Moyes AC to the NSW Legislative Council for an 8 year term with 3.0328% of the vote: 112,865 primary (first preference) votes and 121,110 votes including preferences.

The Party Leader, Rev Fred Nile, had invited Gordon Moyes to be more involved in the organization of the Party structure, leaving Rev Nile to be the Parliamentary Leader.  Dr Moyes’ reorganization plans began with the appointment of a new position of State Director.

New Appointment: State Director

Following extensive consultation with the CDP Management and State Coordinators’ Council, Gordon Moyes introduced Phil Lamb to the 11 October 2003 State Coordinators’ Council meeting as the new CDP State Director.  Phil Lamb spoke about his vision for CDP.  He began by highlighting the change that his appointment will make in the management structure of CDP.

In this inaugural position of State Director, Phil said that his goal for CDP is “to become the third major party in the NSW Upper House behind the Liberal and Labor parties, and to increase our NSW Parliamentary team with talented and competent Bible-believing Christian leaders.”  He spoke on four aspects to his vision for CDP:

1.        CDP - properly promoted.  Deliberate strategies will be devised, which the whole party embraces – that will “broaden our support”.  “We must be looking to attract younger voters, and bringing a younger image to our party.  That means we will be heading into new directions –  our methods of communicating to our members and supporters  may need to change.   I believe that our greatest challenge as we journey down this road, is to keep our faithful and loyal supporters -- while at the same time reaching out to a wider Christian support base which will require different communications, media and marketing, and addressing issues about which they are concerned.  We can do this in a coordinated and extended promotion by taking our supporters, and indeed the Christian public, on a journey – and reporting to them along that journey.”

2.        CDP - properly resourced.  As an organisation, we have not learned to fund-raise effectively like other parties.  One of Phil’s primary goals is to devise strategies for properly resourcing our organisation both in numbers and finances.  Extra memberships will further resource us and provide a broader base from which to draw new workers and candidates.  His goal is for CDP to grow by 400 in members and supporters during 2004.

3.        CDP - properly informed.  The State Council needs to be properly informed - continually.  Phil would like some qualitative and quantitative answers to many questions.  Why do we not know what the Christian community values when voting?  Why do the majority of Christians in NSW NOT support the only Christian Party in parliament?  Why do the media not give CDP much credibility, or equal space or time to that which they give to the other parties?  Why do 100,000’s of voters place us as second preference votes?  We can find out the mind of the Christian community by conducting research – otherwise known as focus groups, and opinion polls.  They are quite accurate and FM103.2, which Phil is involved in, has been conducting “omnibus” opinion polls for the last three years.

4.        CDP - properly prepared.  Phil is committed to documenting our election processes and procedures with a view to utilising the information for advance planning and setting up time-lines and Gantt Charts (used in project management) to sequence and order the procedures.  Our volunteers will be sought early through advertising and through the local Branch.  We will not resort to last minute acceptance of candidates.  Our decision making processes will be timely and well considered.

Phil concluded: “Now every CEO will bring a new leadership style and a new zest for the organisation.  The major recommendations and directions I bring for the party will come back to you as the State council for endorsement.  You have asked me to ‘establish an organisation’ – that means – GET ON WITH THE JOB!!  Are you ready with your sleeves rolled up for some exciting work ahead?”

 Last updated: November 2003.  Compiled by Kylie Laurence.